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A longtime rural resident, I use my 60 plus years of life learning to opinionate here and elsewhere on the “interweb” on everything from politics to environmental issues. A believer in reasonable discourse rather than unhelpful attacks I try to give positive input to the blogesphere, so feel free to comment upon rural issues or anything else posted here. But don’t be surprised if you comments get zapped if you are not polite in your replys.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I recently had the
opportunity to speak with one of the two ladies running to become the
Grey
Bruce Owen Sound Greens federal candidate and seem to
have found a political soul mate.

Emma Jane Hogbin is an
enthusiastic & articulate young lady with a passion for
democracy, she believes that government, political partys and
candidates should be as open as possible and believes, as I do, that
the GPC most closely represents those values. Like myself she has
sought out the platform documents of the various parties and found
them non existent , lacking in content or misleading, excepting for
the Green
Party’s Vision Green document, where like myself
found a clear and broad ranging document giving the GPCs position on
every thing from the
economy to democratic
renewal to quality
of life issues. No one individual will agree 100% on
everything but I personally found little that I could seriously
disagree with, why don’t you take a look and decide for
yourself, ignore the spin, and read the comprehensive party position.
Good luck finding a similar document from the other parties to
compare positions!

She is passionate about
making politics accessible and like myself has deep concerns about
the state of our democracy and the lack of the long promised “open
and accessible” government as well as the lack of respect &
decorum in the House.. She is a strong advocate for our Grey Bruce
region, supporting
the local environment and local people, choosing to spend money
locally, deciding to work from home globally, but choosing to live
very locally, and again like myself has her own
business here in the region. That it is a tech
company and that she is right on top of the latest
Internet technology seems to me to be a bonus as I believe a large
part of the future of an accessible and democratic government rests
with Internet access to data. :

She has said that the
choice in this nomination race could be expressed as between someone
who seeks to get people excited and involved and someone who perhaps
was more familiar with and focused upon GPC “policy”.
It’s a difficult choice, some are all about policy whilst
others may be more about the individual running, getting folks
“excited about politics” is a pretty difficult goal but
if she can reach enough of those folks who are turned off and do not
vote then it just may work. All I can tell you that after a 10 or 15
min conversation with her I was excited to have a candidate who was
so passionate about democracy, which readers of my other blog
Democracy
Under Fire will know is a pet issue with me. Given my
jaundiced and cynical view of our federal politics in particular,
that is no mean feat!

That this passion and
concern for our democracy mirrors not only my own but Green Party
leader Elizabeth May,s gives me hope for the future of the local
“greens” and our region and our country. Without
democracy all the “policy” in the world is but window
dressing!

It is perhaps a little
unfair, as I have not spoken to the other candidate Lynn about these
issues, but at this point I think it is clear where my choice lays.
To balance that I will post extracts both bios for the benefit of
local greens. If you fall into that category do learn more about
these two ladies and join us at the Bayshore on Aug 17 to hear them
speak, renew your membership if necessary and vote for the Candidate
of your choice.

Nominations are open
until Thur July 29th, the nomination meeting will be at
the Harry Lumley
Bayshore in Owen Soundon
Tuesday August 17. It is rumored that Elizabeth May will speak and
deputy leader Adriane
Carr will
also attend. Further details will be posted here and on the local
Green Party web site.

Emma Jane Hogbin
2010 – GPC Candidate

Emma is
committed to helping people define and achieve success. She is
passionate about creating opportunities for people to participate
equally in their community of choice. In 2007 and 2008 Emma hosted
HICK Tech, a rural technology conference which highlighted the unique
challenges and opportunities her community faces. In January 2010 she
was recognized by The Google Diversity Programme for her efforts in
increasing female participation in software development.

Currently
employed as a freelance technical author, Emma works from her home
office in Owen Sound, Ontario. She is a highly sought after technical
speaker and has given presentations around the world about the
importance of small business, open source software and the role of
women in technology. Her first book, Front End Drupal, is a best
seller within its industry.

The Green Party is a natural fit
for Emma. She was selected to be a Legislative Page at the Ontario
Legislature while attending public school and was later a Legislative
Usher while studying at the University of Toronto. She graduated from
UofT in 1999 with a BSc in Science and the Environment where she
focused on the politics of migratory fish species. Emma brings with
her the experience of two successful campaigns run in Bruce-Grey Owen
Sound where she acted as Web consultant. In addition to her own
riding, Emma has a family history with the Green Party--her great
uncle Richard Thomas was one of Canada's first visible Green Party
candidates nearly 20 years ago.

In 2005 Emma returned to her
home town where she continues to be inspired by her book store owner
mother, her artist father, the local farmlands and the short
deciduous trees which surround her.

Lynn Morgan
2010 – GPC Candidate

As a Business
Management/Project Management Consultant for over 20 years in the
technology field, I assist organizations, businesses and individuals
to make better use of their technology. I am analytical/logistical
and intuitive with strong leadership skills.

I am a board member
for the following groups: The Women’s Centre Grey & Bruce
Inc., the Affordable Housing Coalition Grey Bruce and the addictions
education group LEAD. Past volunteer activities have included board
membership with the Adult Literacy Group, Non-Profit Housing
Association, and the Property Standards Committee, in Thunder Bay.
Other volunteer work included the Heart & Stroke Foundation,
Canadian Diabetes Association, and the Arthritis Society, Habitat for
Humanity, HAYWEST, and Home and Community Support Services. I created
the Holland Chatsworth School Literacy Library database and
coordinated the Sauble Beach Clean-up in September 2007 in
conjunction with the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Currently, I am the
Recording Chair for both the Executives of the GPC and the GPO Bruce
Grey Owen Sound EDA since 2008. Previously, I volunteered in the 2008
Federal Election campaign. In the last local municipal election, I
worked as a Deputy Returning Officer.

My values...I
believe we are stewards of our Country and all
the people in it. We, as citizens, need to assume this community
responsibility at all levels now. Our voices need to be united and
speak out against the non-existent government-directed environmental
action and the economic policies that subject growing numbers of
Canadian citizens to subsist in poverty. We need to focus our efforts
on living without fossil fuels and building our economy to support
sustainable green industries. We need to be a voice for those in our
community who suffer injustice or marginalization and who despair of
ever gaining equality or being respected. We need to inspire people
with our integrity to re-enter the political mechanism – get
them out to vote! We need to speak out against policies that deprive
people of their homes, livelihoods and hope. We need to start by
wresting Canada back from the brink of destruction; socially,
environmentally, and economically. It starts here...one voice added
to others in our community...one community added to the other ...for
all of Canada.

My personal thanks to
both candidates for making this commitment, whoever comes in second
will be no less a winner than the nominated candidate. Up with
Democracy.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Recently we have been
hearing whoops and wails coming from the back of our bush so whilst
trimming our trails I took a detour to where I knew we previously had
found a red foxes den. I fear Mr Fox is no more, for a family of
Coyotes has moved in and upgraded the small entrance to a 2 foot
diameter hole. The large mound of sand (numerous wheelbarrows full)
at the entrance speaks to both the size of the den and to what’s
within the side of the drumlin (glacial deposit) where they have
taken up residence.

Nearby an area of 10 to
15 sq ft is worn bare of any vegetation where presumably the Kitts
romp and play. Well defined trail lead away from the den in several
directions.

This would also explain
why our Grouse population seems diminished this year, no doubt the
Wild Turkeys that wander through will take a hit also. I usually
leave Ma Nature to do her own thing in our managed forest,
interceding as little as possible so I do hope that they do not
become aggressive, move up closer to the house or have a face off
with our Australian Cattle Dog and force me to take a more active
role!

Meanwhile it sounds
like police, fire and ambulance have all parked in the bush with
their sirens going. Ma Nature at work!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The
Green Party of Canada is having their convention in August and
as with any political party will be considering a number of
resolutions on policy and governance. Unlike any other party the
grass roots membership can view and vote upon these resolution on
line, this post will then be of primary interest to existing members
of the GPC. Others however will be able to get a small insight into
the things that are being considered (and as with any political group
that covers a spectrum of opinion) and will find links to Vision
Green the official green party position on a variety of topics.

These links to Dave Bagler's blog are
then to make it easier for GPC members to make their decision, you
don't have to agree with Dave (I disagree on several items) but you
will find these a quick way to identify those issues in which you
have a particular interest. Thanks for your efforts on this Dave!
Please read the official motions before voting but do vote upon as
many motions as you can.

GPC members wishing to discuss any of
these motions in detail should do so in the non public members
section of the GPC web site where they will find groups dedicated to
the Policy, Constitution or Directive motions.

Democracy requires dialog, the Green
Party of Canada includes all its members in that dialog why not join
them.

UPDATE – For another point of
view see “Sudbury
Steve,s” Posts about some of the motions and the “spin”
around them.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Regular readers will know I am not a particular Liberal supporter but having stumbled across an announcement that Ignatieff was going to do the rural bbq thing this summer to promote rural issues I checked it out and found the following announcements from May:-

Michael Ignatieff announced a future Liberal government would introduce a $3,000 refundable tax credit for Canada’s volunteer firefighters. It’s a policy meant to recognize the tens of thousands of men and women put their lives at risk to keep us safe when they don the firefighter’s uniform.

..............a future Liberal government would introduce a $3,000 refundable tax credit for Canada’s volunteer firefighters. It’s a policy meant to recognize the tens of thousands of men and women put their lives at risk to keep us safe when they don the firefighter’s uniform.

A future Liberal government will achieve the goal of 100 percent high-speed internet connectivity within three years of being elected, and expand mobile phone coverage for rural and remote Canada. (and are) building on our commitment to legislate a Rural Canadian Postal Service Charter that would prevent further reductions in rural mail service by pledging to work with Canada Post to modernize rural community mail centres with high-speed internet connectivity.

And........ committed to helping Canadians eat healthier, home-grown food through a new national food policy based on healthy eating, safe food, sustainable farm incomes, environmental land stewardship and international leadership.

As well as announced............... that a Liberal government would help attract doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners to underserved rural communities by forgiving up to $20,000 of their student debt over four years.

Now I am not sure that winning the rural vote will do much for the Liberal fortunes with us being such a small part of the fabric of Canada but is sure is nice to see someone in Ottawa getting out in the country and trying. These things are all “no brainers” I would think, and relatively easy to implement (except for 100% connectivity within 3 years?) but talk is cheap and we know how these things get lost once elected, but still its a step in the right direction for rural and remote residents.

The Rant

I am a Canadian by choice not chance.
I am a country boy not a city slicker.
I have a dog not a doorbell, a collie not a rottweiler, a friend not a pet.
I walk in the woods not the streets.
I have a truck not a car, a barn not a garage, a septic system not a sewer.
I live on a gravel road not a paved road.
I have dial up not high speed, a mailbox not a letterbox, a yard light not a street light.
I shoot photo’s not trophies.
I am old not young, married not single, poor not rich, over taxed not over sexed.
I heat with wood not gas,
I respect my neighbors not numb-sculls, police not politicians , hikers not hunters.
I am a RURAL Canadian.